Stanford Trouble 6
by JediMagnet09
Summary: part of the Stanford series... Dean and John are in HUGE trouble and don't expect a rescue. Dean has the opportunity to "talk" to John about what happened between him and his youngest. FYI, it isn't nearly as boring as it sounds! Action packed w/humor!


Well, this is probably the last installment in the Stanford series. I left it a tad, little, itty bitty bit open at the end just in case enough people were interested in reading more. If you DO want me to continue this series, review, tell me, and I will! :) It's just that easy! Where's all our Staples "easy" buttons? :) Anyway, I hope you like the story! It's the longest one yet!

* * *

Dean stepped carefully forward, avoiding stepping on anything that would give his position away. The machete held tightly in his hands gleamed softly in the moonlight and he instantly moved it out of the beam.

The glint could give away his position too.

He edged around the house carefully, all too aware of how very, very, very _bad_ it would be if he was caught.

The element of surprise was one of their biggest weapons.

_Even John Winchester can't take out a whole clan of vampires by himself. _Dean stiffened, freezing, as a stick cracked behind him. _Dad's getting sloppy. _Dean tightened his hold on his machete as almost immediately after another thought hit him. _That's not Dad. Dad doesn't __**do**__ sloppy. _Dean turned then, but instantly he knew it wasn't fast enough.

A pale face greeted him, fangs bared in a disturbing grin. "Looks like we have company….."

Pain, then nothing but darkness.

….

"Dean. Dean, son, you have to wake up."

_Just five more minutes dad. _

"Dean. Wake up!"

The order was clear and Dean responded to it exactly like he had been taught to. He fought to open his eyes, a groan escaping him involuntarily at the pain in his head. The light was dim as he finally won the battle against his eyelids. Memory hit him with the force of a speeding bullet. _CRAP!_ "Dad!" Dean jerked as he tried stand and instantly became aware of several things. He was sitting on the ground, chained to the wall, one hand on either side of his head. Speaking of his head, he was sure it was about to explode. The stupid vampire had clocked him good. Vampire. _CRAP!_

"Dean, can you hear me?" His dad, voice calm as usual.

Dean turned his head to look at him. "Yeah."

"How badly are you injured?" His dad sounded ticked and Dean could guess why.

_Besides the whole captured by vampire things, now he's stuck against this wall and he can't check my injuries himself. _"I'm okay, dad. My head feels like a whole herd of elephants have taken up residence inside and decided to throw a party, but besides that…."

John chuckled at the image. "I'm sure. With all that blood on your head, that vampire must have gotten you pretty good."

"Speaking of vampires…where are our friends?"

"Sleeping. It's day time again. You've been unconscious for hours."

Dean grimaced. Fantastic. He tugged at his chairs, wondering how strong the chairs were or, for that matter, the wall if it came down to it.

"Don't bother, Dean, they're not breaking. The chains _and_ the wall are hard as steel."

_How __**does**__ he do that?_ "What are we going to do?"

His dad's grimace was his only answer and Dean felt his stomach drop. _Ah, crap. If dad doesn't have an answer…there isn't one._

…

"Dean. I….."

Dean felt his heart clench as he heard his dad hesitate. They had been stuck in the vampire's lair for over a day now and, though the vampires hadn't come to bother them _yet_, both hunters were feeling the effects of the captivity. Hope was definitely waning.

"Dean, I want you to be prepared, son. I'm not giving up, but…I don't see how we're getting out of this one. We have to be realistic. We can't expect a rescue. There's no one there to rescue us. Bobby can't take on a whole clan of vampires by himself and besides, how would he _really_ know if we're in trouble anyway? We could have moved on and not told him. We've done that enough." His dad sounded irritated.

_There's Sam._ Dean wasn't sure he should mention that thought, knowing his dad would probably scoff at best and be infuriated at worst. _Dad doesn't exactly have a lot of faith in Sam. Besides, Sam has no way of knowing we're in trouble either. _

Dean sighed heavily. _Sam. Ah, poor Sammy. He's going to be the last Winchester. _Over the last few months, he and his brother had grown closer than ever before, Jess seeming to have helped their relationship if anything. _Sam's going to be alone. Well, he'll have Jess, but…..how will he cope without family? Sam isn't-_ Dean's heart froze in horror at this next realization. _Sam isn't going to have anyone to watch his back. No more big brother to keep him safe. All alone. Oh, gosh. Sam's going to be devastated. _

"Dean? What are you thinking, son?" John's soft tone, a surprise in itself, caught Dean's attention, softening his guard, and his mouth moved before he could stop it.

"Sam is going to be alone. He'll be the last surviving Winchester. He's going to be devastated."

John scoffed, anger already clear on his face. "Sam chose to leave us, Dean. He has nothing to do with this family anymore. He's not interested in hunting, remember? He knew full well this could happen when he deserted us for that stupid school he cares about so much."

Dean instantly felt his blood begin to boil. His dad could be so _clueless_ sometimes. _How DARE he? _"Dad, Sam didn't _'chose to leave us'_! He went to school, for goodness sake! He's still a part of this family! He went to Stanford to give us all a chance to relax someday, to have something to fall back on! It was something he _needed_ to do, dad! Why can't you be happy that _he's _finally happy! And SAFE! Dang it, what is it with you? Sam would have been with us a lot more of the last year or two if you hadn't given him that retarded ultimatum! 'If you walk out that door, Sam, don't you **ever** come back' that's what you told him! They have breaks, dad, Sam could have been with us a lot more. You're the one who pushed him away when he was doing all this for _you_! Maybe you should try being his father instead of his drill sergeant." Dean growled, his voice calming as he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, unable to deal with his father anymore, not having the energy to yell longer. "You're the one who left him vulnerable on the side of the road on the way to the airport. You have no right to judge him for his decision, dad, because you've made plenty of lousy ones yourself. If we're going to die, the last thing I hear…..I _refuse_ for the last thing I hear to be _you_ complaining about _Sammy_."

Dean sighed again. _I just yelled at dad. Sam would be so proud. _He fought back a snicker at that, instead turning his mind to happier things, briefly noticing that his dad was remaining silent by his side. _I knew that road trip was a good idea. Good memories to dwell on instead of-_ Dean pushed back the thought. _Road trip. Think about the road trip. Don't say __**that**__ out loud though….dad doesn't exactly __**know**__ about that….stubborn jerk would probably stay behind as a ghost just to haunt Sam for taking me on one. _Dean had to restrain another snicker. His dad would think he had lost his mind. _Maybe I have. _

_Ah, Sammy, I'm so sorry._

….

Dean was awoken again by the sound of a door slamming. He opened his eyes to see a figure walking smoothly down the basement stairs, a nasty grin on the vampire's face.

"You two must be getting rather bored with nothing but each other to talk to. Perhaps you would do _lonely_ better." The vampire focused on Dean and in that instant, Dean knew. The vampire was going to kill him. He'd probably do it slowly, agonizingly, draining each drop of blood from his body, but he was still going to do it. No doubt, at least two other vampires would be joining him within the next few minutes.

"Dude, I don't know if you're friends have ever told you, but you're freaking ugly, man. Man, kill me just to get away from your mug." Dean taunted. He wasn't going down without a couple of good insults thrown in.

The vampire was fast. Dean would give him that much.

The words were barely out of his mouth before the vampire was standing _right_ in front of Dean, crouching so they were face to face. One of his hands closed around Dean's throat, squeezing tightly. Dean choked, caught by surprise.

"Leave him alone! Take me first!" His dad's voice sounded desperate and fear ran through Dean at the sound.

His dad didn't know what to do. He really was going to die.

"Ah, ah, the mouthy one gets to go first. You'll have your turn." The vampire released Dean's throat, but it bared its fangs, inching forward towards his neck.

_I love you, Sammy. Take good care of Jess. Heck, take good care of the Impala too, while you're at it. _

Suddenly, the vampire froze, as a huge crash sounded from upstairs and yells and screams followed immediately. "What is going on up there?" the vampire sounded understandably irritated at being interrupted in his feeding, or near-feeding. The vampire rose and started towards the door, reaching the bottom of the stairs. Dean couldn't help his sigh of relief, but instantly tensed again as the door at the top of the stairs banged open, unseen but definitely heard.

….

Sam Winchester was officially ticked off.

He faced the house he had finally tracked them down to, rage focusing his vision till he felt like he was seeing down a tunnel, the only thing visible the door that he was about to completely demolish. He kicked it down and immediately faced the first vampire, quickly flanked by two more.

Undeterred, Sam spun the two machetes he held, one in each hand, a feral grin on his face. _Come and get me you filthy #^#$%##%^#$. _[NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Use your imaginations… :) ]

He let them make the first move. The female vampire was standing closest and she leapt forward with an animalistic scream. Sam lunged to the side, swinging the machete in his right hand, his aim true as it's honed edge sliced right through her neck. She was dead before she hit the floor.

He didn't have time to gloat, revel, or regret. The two vampires that had moved in to flank her both lunged forward. They were smarter, coming at him at the same time from two different angles. Unfortunately, their intelligence was no match for his crushing fury. Sam dropped to his knees, stabbing upwards and to the side with both machetes. Two cries of pain met his ears. He pulled both of his weapons free, immediately swinging and cutting off the two weakening vampire's heads. Each machete had been dipped in dead man's blood: poison to the vampires. It also gave Sam an edge he knew he was going to need.

…

Dean jerked against his chains, worried at the sight of another vampire coming running down the stairs.

"There's another one! It's here!" the new vampire growled, panic clear in his tone.

"Only one?" the other vampire (who had been inches from snacking on Dean) asked in disgust. "What's all the ruckus then?"

"He's completely crazy, Danny! Michelle, John, and Chris are already dead!" the new vampire cried.

The other vampire, Danny, looked visibly shaken at that. "What? How could they be taken out by one measly human?"

Before the new vampire could respond, the door crashed open again, footsteps pounding down the stairs.

Dean gasped a second later as Sam came into view. _His _Sam. Sammy. His little brother held two machetes and looked like he was about to blow a fuse. _Dang! I've never seen Sam look so ticked!_ Dean spared a glance at his father, who was staring open-mouthed, eyebrows raised, at his youngest son.

….

Sam was still moving, facing the two vampires, no fear visible in his stance or face.

The new vampire moved first, antsy and too scared to wait any longer, lunging at Sam with inhuman speed. Sam was ready, stabbing the vampire with one machete to buy himself just enough time to swing the other one and take off its head. Before he could move to take on the last remaining vampire, Sam felt the machete knocked out of his head. He heard it clatter to the floor just as something slammed into him with the force of a freight train, slamming him to the ground hard. Having lost both his weapons, Sam pulled his knife out of his belt, but the vampire grabbed his wrist and pinned it to the floor. Sam desperately tried to reach for the fallen machete. He was _so close_. He heard Dean shouting, but tried to block it out for now, forcing his mind to focus. _Reach! REACH! You're so CLOSE! REACH!_ Then there was a blinding pain in his neck. Unprepared, he let out a tortured scream, the sound of Dean screaming his name barely registering in his mind. Finally, his hand closed around the handle of the machete and in one swift move, he pulled it close and stabbed the vampire through the chest. The vampire fell, the dead man's blood weakening him immediately. Sam groaned in pain, then turned to face his family. He let out a relieved sigh to see them both unharmed, at least for the most part, then gave them a small grin. "Hey guys."

….

"Sam! How in the world did you find us, dude?" Dean asked in awe. His little brother kicked _butt! _

Sam smiled as he slowly pushed himself up to his knees. "You didn't answer your phone at all. Got nervous, called Bobby. Found out what you were hunting." Sam's gaze darkened. "When I got here, I found your blood outside. Heard them describing what they were going to do to you guys."

Dean's eyes widened just slightly. "That's why you came in here like freakin' Van Helsing." He commented.

Sam grinned at that image. "Yep." He pushed himself the rest of the way to his feet, swaying slightly.

"Sam, why didn't you ever fight like that before you left for school?" John asked suddenly.

Sam stopped walking, his smile disappearing from his face.

Dean threw his father a dirty look, which John winced at, but mostly ignored.

"It's amazing what you can do when you have the proper motivation." Sam finally answered quietly. "I didn't have the proper motivation." Sam started walking again.

Dean felt his heart leap up to his throat as a figure rose up behind his little brother. He opened his mouth to scream a warning but he was too late.

Sam froze, his eyes wide, as a white hot pain shot through his body.

The vampire grinned as he ripped the hunter's knife out of Sam's back, dropping it to the floor.

"SAMMY!" Dean's scream was heart wrenching and he jerked against his chains roughly, trying to get to his baby brother.

His lips suddenly curling in a snarl, Sam spun around, swinging the machete he had picked up and in one smooth motion cutting off the head of the vampire. Sam stared at the body for a second, then turned slowly back to face his dad and brother, who were watching him, horror twisting their faces.

The machete fell from his suddenly numb fingers, his face was pale as death, and Dean could see him shaking badly.

But, being Winchester stubborn, Sam stumbled forward, determined to free them. He was closing in on them, right at Dean's feet, when his legs buckled underneath him and he dropped to his knees.

"Sammy…." Dean didn't know what he was going to say, but watching his brother slowly fade away in front of him was agonizing.

Sam slowly pitched forward, his head and shoulders landing in Dean's lap. Dean made a horror-filled choking noise, both father and son pulling with all their strength against the chains that held their hands to the wall.

"_Dad!"_

Dean's plea brought John's head snapping over to look at him, his heart feeling like it had been torn right out of his chest. Dean never _pleaded_, he got angry and he yelled, but…..here he was, looking at his father, begging him with his eyes to fix it, to make it all better, to _do_ something. He could almost hear his son in those vivid green eyes of his. _Please, dad, don't let him die. Not now. Not right here in front of us. You can do anything….please don't let this happen._

Sam stirred slightly, then, to their shock, began to push himself up. It was clearly a struggle and he was sweating and pale when his face finally rose to meet theirs, but he was up. Sam crawled around on his hands and knees, reaching up to the chains that bound his brother's left hand to the wall.

With a little difficulty, he undid the clip that held it there and within seconds Dean had freed his right hand and was grabbing Sam, holding him as his strength finally gave out. Dean reached over absently with one hand and freed his dad's right hand. He distantly heard his dad pulling out his phone and calling 911, but he didn't pay any attention. "Sammy? Hey, dude, stay with me here. You can't come save us and not stick around long enough to rub it in. Open your eyes, Sammy."

Sam's pale face remained unmoving, his chest barely rising, body limp.

"Sam? Sam, _please_. Don't give up on me. Come on, Sam. Don't make me call Jess with news like-like-…._._ Come on, Sam. Sammy _please_….." Dean buried his face in Sam's chest, his breath beginning to hitch. _No. No. _

Then Sam stirred slightly in his arms, his eyelids fluttering open just as Dean pulled away to see his baby brother's face. "D-Dean?" Sam gave him a small smile, but his eyes were gentle. "D-don't fall apart on m-me yet. I'm n-not letting you off th-that easy." Sam reached a hand up to grasp a handful of Dean's t-shirt, the action counteracting the calm teasing in his words.

"Darn straight you're not." Dean muttered, even as he flashed a smile at his brother. "Just hold on Sam, the paramedics will be here soon. They'll patch you up and we'll come up with a great story to cover this up. Then we can all go see Jess and tell her the story of your amazing butt-kicking. I don't think she realized that she was dating Van Helsing, Sammy."

Sam weakly leaned his head against Dean's chest a small smile on his face, taking in a breath, absorbing the scents that belonged to Dean, ones he would always find comfort in. Gun powder, leather, oil from the Impala. "S-Sam Hels-s-sing. Na' too bad." Sam muttered.

Dean's soft chuckle echoed above him. As darkness began to overtake him, Dean's words were the last thing he heard. "No, Sammy, not too bad at all."

…

"Dang, I am so glad to be out of that hospital!" Dean crowed, as he pushed Sam's wheelchair out towards the Impala, where their father was waiting.

Sam snorted, rolling his eyes. "You weren't in the hospital, Dean, I was."

"I still had to sit there every day."

"We checked out like a week early. I was only in there two days."

"Two days too long, kiddo."

Sam shook his head with a smile, ignoring the twinge from the bite wound on his neck. It was healing up nicely, but it would be sore for a few more days. The knife wound in his back was stitched up nicely, the blood he'd lost had been replaced, and now he had several weeks of bed rest ahead of him. _I'm never going to get through college at this rate._ Sam chuckled softly.

"What you thinking Sammy?" Dean asked.

"Jess is going to kill me. You did call her, right?"

"Of course! I already told you! I called her while you were out of it. I explained what happened. She was pretty worried, but I told her you would be fine and promised her you wouldn't leave my sight. _Ever again_. Be warned, baby brother, we're in this for the long haul. I take my promises very seriously. You're never leaving my sight again." Dean grinned.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who got myself captured by vampires. That was you and dad. I had to come clean up after your mess." Sam teased back.

"Yeah, yeah, then you went all Rambo on their butts, I was there, remember?" Dean grumbled, good-naturedly.

Sam laughed. "Don't get all sour just because your little brother showed you up."

"At least I….I have a CAR!"

"What does that have to do with anything? Besides, I have a car too!"

"Yeah, but your car sucks. The Impala is _awesome_."

"There is nothing wrong with my car."

"Except for the fact that it _sucks_."

"I still showed you up. I kicked vampire butt and you failed abysmally."

"You and your big words, college-boy."

"Abysmally isn't a big word, Dean. Antidisestablishmentarianism is a big word."

"_What?_"

"Never mind, Dean. Don't trouble your pretty little head about i- Ow! Hey! I just got out of the hospital, don't start hitting me!"

"For a guy who supposedly kicked vampire butt, you're a bit of a wimp, Sammy."

"Boys!" John's voice cut through their argument and they both turned to look at him. He was watching them in amusement, an eyebrow raised. "Do you feel like getting in the car anytime today?" he growled, fighting a smile. "Cause if not, we could always check Sam back into the hospital for a few more days….."

"NO! We're getting in! We're _getting in!_" Dean wheeled Sam up to the back door, carefully keeping the chair from rolling away with one leg while opening the back door. He paused in surprise as he looked at the back. It was full of pillows and blankets, all laid out on the seat. He glanced at John, who was carefully looking anywhere but at his sons. Dean's face lit up with a small smile. _That's it, dad. Thank you. _"Alright, Sammy. Let's get you situated."

After a few minutes of groans, gritted teeth, and cursing, they managed to get Sam into the back seat without permanently injuring him, getting him in a comfortable position on the pillows that John had laid down for him. Sam had given John a shocked look of his own when he had seen the back seat, but Dean's heart had almost broken at the small flicker of hope he saw in his little brother's eyes. If his dad's expression was anything to go by, his heart was aching too.

"Let's get this show on the road!"

….

Hours later, Dean was asleep in the passenger seat, Sam was staring aimlessly at the ceiling of the Impala, and John was still driving. They had turned the music down to a manageable level once Dean had fallen asleep, but neither wanted to turn it off completely. It protected from feeling the need to start talking, which was something neither wanted. Sam was all too aware that the last time he had been with his dad, he had been kicked out of the car and forced to walk three miles before getting a ride to the airport with strangers. They hadn't talked since either.

Sam glanced at his dad in surprise as he turned the music off. He saw his dad looking at him through the review mirror and as their eyes met, Sam was shocked by the softened expression on his father's face.

"Sam….." John cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. "Look, son." He finally sighed. "I'm sorry about what happened…..before. I shouldn't have kicked you out of the car and I shouldn't have yelled at you about going to school. The truth is I was scared that you would be out of our sight. I wasn't ready to let you go. I let my temper do the talking for me and that's never wise." John gave a small grin, feeling relieved when Sam gave a grin of his own, though his eyes were telling a different story as they began to water.

"I'm sorry too, dad. I should have tried to explain myself better. I picked a fight and-"

John shook his head. "No you didn't, Sam. You were just trying to do what you felt you needed to do and you explained it fine. My big head just got in the way. But if you've prove anything over the last week, it's that you are all the stronger for going to school. The…..the truth is, son, I am darn proud of you. You've done this family proud, Sam, and I brag about my college boy every chance I get. You've gone above and beyond the call of duty and you've earned the name of Winchester ten times over, Sam."

Sam's tears streaked down his face, but a smile lit his face. A genuine smile, dimples and all, his eyes lighting up. "I love you, dad."

John matched his smile and it was suddenly clear where the youngest had gotten it. "I love you too, Sammy."

From his place in the passenger seat's, still feigning sleep, Dean smiled, fighting tears of his own. _Finally. _

….

The pain woke Sam up. He had moved in his sleep to a rather uncomfortable position. He groaned softly again as he tried to sit up enough that he could shift, but his body had stopped listening to him long ago. He was too weak to sit up by himself, still recovering from his wounds. He moaned softly again, wishing his eyes didn't feel like lead weights had been tied to them. He jumped as a gentle hand touched his cheek.

"Sammy? You uncomfortable, man?"

Sam could have laughed if he wasn't so uncomfortable. Dean's "Sammy radar" was apparently working just fine. His older brother always knew when something was wrong, or if he was uncomfortable or in pain. "Yeah." Sam managed to moan, his voice sounding slurred and only half-awake.

A second later, he felt strong hands pushing him up into a slightly sitting position. He was held there with one hand, he could hear sounds of rustling, then he was laid back down. He could feel something hard-ish under his pillow and he finally managed to force his eyes open.

Dean had climbed into the back and put a pillow in his lap and now Sam's head and upper shoulders were resting there. _Poor kid's only half awake. _Dean noted, as he looked into Sam's slightly bloodshot, half-open eyes. He rested one arm over Sam's chest, moving the other so it could run through Sam's hair. It was something he hadn't done since they were kids. It used to be the best way to get a distraught baby Sam to get to sleep and it had worked until Sam was probably eight or nine years old, when the kid had decided he was too old for it. Dean smiled softly as Sam's eyes drooped almost immediately at the action and Sam turned his head towards Dean, giving a soft sound of contentment as his eyes slid shut and his breathing deepened and slowed. Asleep. _No nightmares tonight, Sammy. _

…..

_I'm bored. Entertain me, Sammy! _"Your girly is going to freak." Dean grinned tauntingly at his little brother.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Jess? Why?"

"Of course Jess, how many girlfriends do you have?" Dean gave him a sneaky grin. "Unless there's something you should be _telling_ me, Sammy. Jess is a pretty nice girl, but I imagine she would kick your butt into next week if she found out she was just one of several. Ha, I'd so pay to see Jess kick your butt!"

"She's more likely to kick your butt than mine, vampire bait." Sam retorted.

"You're the one with the hero complex, Rambo."

"I wouldn't have a hero complex if you would keep your butt out of trouble. And you're the one who got your butt kicked for multiple girlfriends in high school, not me, Kirk."

"Only you would make a Star Trek reference, geek boy."

"Only you would complain about me making a Star Trek reference, Star Wars geek."

"Hey, the little green dude with the light sword was _awesome_."

"You mean, _Yoda_ with his _lightsaber_, moron."

"Maybe I prefer to call him the 'little green dude' with his 'light sword', gigantor."

"How does my height have anything to do with this conversation?"

"You're like a big hairy wookiee, Chewbacca."

"At least I'm not the size of Jawa, midget."

"What the heck is a Jawa, geek?"

"It's the short little inarticulate midget creature that live in the desert. Kinda reminds me of you. I mean, it has all the right qualities: short, little, miniscule, midget, oh and don't forget inarticulate….."

"At least I do more than growl, Chewie."

"That doesn't even make any sense, Dean. I'm not the one who growls all the time, you do. Perhaps you're a cross between a Jawa and a Wookiee. You're a short, hairless wookiee." Sam burst out laughing at that image.

"Yeah, yeah. 'Laugh it up, fuzzball.'"

"Dean! Are you _trying_ to pick a fight?" John finally asked with a sigh.

Dean grinned. "Yes."

John sighed again. "Dare I ask why?"

"I'm bored."

"Of course you are."

…

"Sam! Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!"

Sam smiled at Jess as she opened the door to see Sam and Dean standing there. Sam was leaning heavily on Dean, still not able to walk far or move much without help.

"Come on, let's get you situated." She waved them in.

"He's still pretty wiped out from his injuries, Jess. Do you mind if I stay for a week or two until he's back on his feet?" Dean asked.

Jess smiled. "You're welcome to stay as long as you like. I'm not going to be able to move him around much, so the help is definitely welcome."

"Oh, I'm sure you could move him if you put your mind to it, Jess."

"Dude! Quit flirting with my girlfriend!"

"I'm not flirting with her, I'm making fun of you."

"How are-"

"Okay, okay, why don't we lay Sam down on the couch, _then_ you guys can duke it out." Jess interrupted with a grin.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Yes, why don't _we lay me down on the couch_. This is going to be a long couple of weeks."

….

"Hey Dean?" Sam spoke softly, aware of Jess curled up in the armchair pressed up against the couch where he was laying.

Dean looked up from the other armchair, where he was sitting near Sam's feet. "Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"For what?" Dean looked confused.

"For talking to dad. I know you must have said something to him or he never would have….never would have apologized. Dean, he….." Sam fought not to get choked up at the memory of his earlier conversation with his father. It was one he knew he would never forget. It meant the world to him and it made him want to cry all over again. _Dang, I am a girl._ "He told me he was proud of me. He actually said that."

Dean smiled at Sam's expression. "Yeah, Samantha, I know." His tone was more tender than his teasing words would suggest.

"Vampire bait."

"Rambo."

* * *

Just in case people were wondering: Yes, I am a Star Wars geek...


End file.
